Shakespeare and the Market in His Own Day

This chapter looks at Shakespeare’s engagement with the commercial theatre world and the marketing of his work in his own life time. This includes considering Shakespeare’s part in leading and following theatrical fashions on the early modern London stage and the importance of competition and imitation across the repertories of the leading London acting companies. It also includes reflecting on what we know about the business practices of Shakespeare’s company (the Lord Chamberlain’s / King’s Men) and the early history of Shakespeare’s plays and poems in print, including the ways in which Shakespeare’s name and works were circulated and marketed to his contemporaries in and outside early modern London.